Clive Goodman, 49, the royal editor of the mass-market News of the World tabloid, admitted conspiracy to intercept the messages along with an accompanying researcher, Glenn Mulcaire, 36, in court in November. In a hearing to decide their sentences Friday, Mulcaire was jailed for six months for his part in the scandal, which triggered questions about how widespread the practice might be.

Clarence House, the London official residence of heir to the throne Prince Charles, alerted the police about alleged repeated security breaches on its telephone network. The messages were tapped into between November 2005 and June last year.

"This was low conduct, reprehensible in the extreme," said Judge Peter Gross. "This case is not about press freedom. It is about grave, inexcusable and illegal invasion of privacy. The targets were members of the royal family. The royal family holds a unique position in the life of this country. It is grave indeed."

The "intrinsically serious and unattractive nature" of the crime warranted jail terms, he said. "This was serious criminal conduct to which we must not become numbed. Such sustained criminal conduct should be marked by a loss of liberty.Neither journalist or private security consultant are above the law. What you did was plainly on the wrong side of the line."

Mulcaire was paid over 100,000 pounds (200,000 dollars, 150,000 euros) a year for carrying out "research" for the Sunday tabloid, which is Britain's biggest-selling newspaper with a circulation of some 3.3 million copies. Prosecutor David Perry said they managed to eavesdrop on messages left on mobiles belonging to three royal staff.

"The defendants' motivation was profit and personal gain and their conduct amounted to gross invasion of privacy and the abuse of the public telephone system," Perry said. Mulcaire was paid some 12,300 pounds for stories about Harry, his girlfriend, Chelsy, and Sarah, the Duchess of York. Goodman submitted the payments as expenses.

"The inference to be drawn is that he was also motivated by profit, seeking confidential information with a view to selling it to the press," said the prosecutor. AFP; January 26, 2007